THE WORLD THIS WEEK - From March 29 to April 2 (part 1)

Has the old flame between the U.S. and France been rekindled or did Barack Obama invite Nicolas Sarkozy over to the White House to lobby for more troops in Afghanistan? Joining François Picard were the International Herald Tribune’s Anne Bagamery, Philippe Gélie of newspaper Le Figaro, Voice of America bureau chief Lisa Bryant and Galia Ackerman of Radio France International’s Russian language service.

Host of the show since 2010, this Franco-American was RFI’s West Africa bureau chief from 1995 to 1998. He plays it straight on all issues, except for les Bleus in rugby and ice hockey’s New York Rangers!

LAURA CELLIERPresenter

She’s a British journalist who previously worked for Bloomberg Television. At FRANCE 24, she hosts the weekly Inside the Americas, the fast-paced Live From Paris show and regularly hosts The Debate.